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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: clip · prune · lean · staff · tube · deal · pop · bay

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. prune — to trim
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. staff — employees
  5. lean — to bend
  6. lean — thin
  7. pop — to visit
  8. clip — for paper
  9. staff — a stick
  10. clip — a video
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. clip — to cut
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. prune — to trim
  16. pop — music
  17. deal — to handle
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. pop — soda
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. tube — the underground
  22. tube — a container
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. bay — a part of the sea

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com